About

D.L. is very devoted to his family. After initially deciding to participate in the plan to rob Linderman of the $2 million in order to better provide for Niki and Micah, he backs out of the plan out of fear that Linderman will seek retribution against them. Even after he discovers Jessica set him up, he remains very much in love with his wife, and ultimately succumbs to Micah's pleas to return and help Niki overcome her alter ego.

Unlike some of the others, D.L. seems to actually enjoy using his powers (possibly because they pose no real threat to others) and has made no effort to conceal them from those close to him.

Character History

The estranged father and husband of Micah and Niki Sanders, respectively, D.L. Hawkins is said to have escaped from prison somehow and is on the run from the law. According to Niki, he robbed Linderman of two million dollars and murdered his own crew. He is a high-priority fugitive, and thus the Las Vegas Police Department offer to protect Niki and Micah when D.L. is spotted at a nearby convenience store. This protection fails, however, as D.L. manages to sneak into Niki's house and meets her. D.L. tries to convince Niki that he was framed for his crimes, and he wants to be a part of her family again in order to raise Micah. The couple reconcile and D.L. reunites with his son.

The next morning, D.L. explains to Niki that he knows someone who has some information on the person who framed him. They go to meet these people only to find them ripped apart. Later DL catches Niki listening to Jessica and getting the money from the rafters. They fight, and DL leaves with the money and Micah. They are then on the run. Micah gets angry at his dad and wants to go home, but they keep running. At one point, they stop at a car crash, and DL uses his powers along with Hiro to save the people inside. He and Micah leave again when he learns that Ando has called the police. When they stop another time, Jessica tries to snipe him, and only one bullet hits, the other, he phases through. They then find a cabin in the forest and rest there.

Later, Jessica finds the cabin and they start to fight. Micah tries to break it up, but Jessica pushes him out of the way, slamming him into a rock. DL and a now in control Niki, comfort him, before Niki decides to turn herself in for Jessica's crimes. Over the next few episodes, DL is struggling to be a good parent to Micah until Niki comes back. After she comes back, he becomes suspicious and uncovers Jessica's work as an assassin. Jessica finally comes to terms with DL, and they go to New York to rescue Micah. At the Kirby Plaza building, they temporarily team up with Matt and Noah. They locate Linderman in his office, and Niki resurfaces as DL takes a bullet for her. He then phases his hand into Linderman's head, killing him. An injured DL phases out of the room with Niki as the guards rush in. DL is left in the hallway as Niki goes to find Micah. Later, Mohinder and Molly find him just as Niki and Micah return, and Micah gets them out by telling the elevator to open. When outside, all DL can do is watch the fight and explosion.

D.L. is known to survive the attack on Mr. Linderman. He heals and goes home with Niki and Micah. However, when Niki does not take her pills, she becomes someone else again and goes to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, D.L. uses his phasing ability to rescue a girl from a burning house as a firefighter. D.L. discovers a message in the mirror and immediately heads for L.A. When he arrives, he shows a man at a club a picture of her and the family and is directed to her dancing with another man. He gets her away, and the man punches him in the head, only to find that it phases through. D.L. subdues the man and takes Niki with him. Minutes later, as Niki and D.L. are about to leave the club, the man approaches D.L. and shoots him point-blank in the chest, killing him.

D.L. trains to become a firefighter. For his test, he is paired up with Captain Burke, a firefighter who constantly puts him down. When inside a burning home, the fire causes part of the building to collapse, trapping the firemen. As the firefighters try to escape, D.L. phases into the basement. There, he thinks of Micah and how he would be proud to see his father using his ability to help others. D.L. turns a valve, saving the other firefighters. When he exits the building, Burke welcomes him to the department, and tells him to go home and tell his family that he is a hero.

D.L. had the ability to phase some or all of his body through solid objects. He had used his ability to walk through walls, pass his arm through a window, open locked doors, and injure other people by phasing through their bodies.

Notes

Before D.L.'s introduction, mentions of him made him sound like he was a full-time member of Mr. Linderman's organization. However, as of Better Halves it's less clear that this was the case. Based on his conversation with Niki about the robbery, it now seems just as likely that D.L. was primarily a construction worker who did at best a few jobs for Linderman on the side. This has led some fans to question whether D.L.'s "crew" refers, as originally assumed, to a criminal gang, or merely to a construction crew who were involved in only the one robbery. However, Snapshots indicates that D.L. considered his crew a bad influence, which seems to indicate the former context. Stolen Time further reveals that he used to be the gang's safe cracker.

Trivia

D.L.'s last name, Hawkins, is of Old English origin and means "little hawk".

According to a 2002 tax return in Linderman's archives, D.L. lived at 1430 Martel Avenue, Sparks, Nevada 89432. His phone number was 617-555-0187, and his Social Security number is 569-3451-081. (The Hard Part) However, the tax return is filled out incorrectly, as it lists "Hawkins" as his first name and "D.L." as his last name.

According to D.L.'s inmate record card, D.L. doesn't have more than a high school education.

D.L.'s firefighter helmet is helmet number 2.

D.L.'s car has Nevada license plates that end with "5 K30". (Nothing to Hide)